


This Side Of Paradise

by Soupip



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, teenagers to adults
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 02:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15676515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soupip/pseuds/Soupip
Summary: Fifteen year old James T. Kirk meets a mysterious stranger one evening. The stranger is Spock. Spock and his mom are moving to Riverside, and before Jim knew what was happening he and Spock were starting to form a great bond. The only problem is Spock's shady backstory, and behavior lead Jim to believe something strange is going. Will Jim figure out the weird, and disconcerting mystery that is Spock? And how will Jim go about this new and confusing relationship that seems to be defining him in ways he can't describe?Warnings/Clarifications: May contain mentions of past abuse. This story takes place in the near future. Jim is deaf, and uses a hearing aid for the majority of the story. For more clarification read the notes at the beginning and ending of each chapter.





	This Side Of Paradise

Jim sighed onto his computer screen, running a hand down his face. He looked at his screen, his brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. Another firewall was in the way of him changing the status of his attendance. The young man made a sound of exasperation and tapped a few more keys mindlessly. He didn’t have much of a plan, just knew some techniques from previous experiences, but other than that, he had no clue what he was doing.

Of course, Jim was skilled, he knew how to hack his school’s security system for every authorized area, and he could edit any grades in the entire system, but he’d never tried this before. He’d been skipping his health class recently because it was total bullshit, and he didn’t want any dumb repercussions, just because he didn’t want to listen to his middle-aged professor talk about hormones and genitalia every other day. Jim was already taking biology, what more did he need? He could figure the rest out.

Jim lifted an eyebrow at the sudden loading screen in front of his face. He hadn’t done much, just routine codes, and programs he’d designed that could guess passwords, and when that didn’t work he’d default to some rougher dirtier stuff. He’d have to dig pretty deep to get around the fingerprint, and face recognition options. Luckily this was pretty similar to the grading system, so it didn’t take long before he got in.

Jim grinned, seeing his, and everyone else in his class’s attendance. A few more clicks, and he changed his attendance back to what it was at the beginning of the semester. Just enough, so it wouldn’t seem suspicious, but would get him out of any trouble. Hazel eyes scanned the computer, making sure everything was saved, and set. He exited out of all his programs and checked a few times that nothing he had done was detected.

“Computer, off.” He said, clearly. The screen dimmed, and finally powered down. Jim saw his reflection in the monitor. It was warped slightly, but Jim didn’t pay attention for too long. The young man stretched his arms, standing out of his chair. He eyed his room, considering cleaning up, but internally laughed, tossing the thought out of his mind. Jim looked at his abandoned physics project in the corner. He’d been working on it for a few days, but he had to stop kidding himself. There was no way someone could transport matter automatically. Teleportation just wasn’t possible. Even in small scale models, theoretically it posed so many contradicting facts. Jim sighed, placing his hands on his waist, pulling at his t-shirt. Stepping over a hoodie that needed laundering he grabbed a history textbook off an abandoned chess game on his dresser. The chess game was against himself like always, but the book’s folded pages, and dusty spine hadn’t been touched in at least two weeks.

Jim brought the book up to his eyes, and he felt himself smirking at the contents. He’d stopped reading at the point in history with the Greeks religious beliefs. He’d underlined and highlighted some paragraphs on the pages, and they all had stuff to do with Poseidon. He was Jim’s little obsession when he was seven, he remembered reading all the _Percy Jackson_ books, then moving on to random Greek history books, and some fiction written in that time. Jim was fascinated by history and would sometimes go back to his collection every now and again. Two weeks ago, he went through a couple books, and took notes. He didn’t have a real plan, or idea for the notes, he just wanted to analyze the information.

Jim closed the book, and sat it on his shelf, making sure to place it in its place. He made sure to keep his books (as long as they were on the shelf) alphabetically organized. He also kept the books in their own categories, kind of like a library would. He made sure the fiction, and non-fiction were separate, as well as the subject matter. It all made sense in his brain, the categories, and where he placed them. Like the way he would organize names, certain names fitting into boxes, and how without thinking he would sometimes mull over names that felt similar. Jim did this with all kinds of things. Places, people, anything. He’d brought it up to a couple friends without thinking, but none of them understood. Jim always thought it was something everyone did, but when he showed Bones his bookshelf, and how he organized it he didn’t understand the system at all.

Jim walked over to his _Lego_ spaceship he’d been working on for a few weeks. He would take things off, adjust them, and keep adding to the complex design. He knew it would never be done, it would just change. Jim noticed it sometimes shifted in design depending on his mood. Sometimes its design would be more bulbous, and expressive, other times it would turn out sleeker, and occasionally it would be angular, and harsh. Bones pointed it out first. The fact that it didn’t have a real purpose, or direction. But Jim knew that. He knew it wouldn’t end, so long as he kept working on it, it would get better, and better, but who knew when Jim might be satisfied.

He sat for a few minutes shifting some of the pieces and adding a new wing design he’d started the day before. It added more aerodynamics, at least that’s what Jim imagined it would contribute. He changed the interior only slightly, making the bridge plan more open, and more spacious.

Jim only stopped playing with the engine system when he heard the doorbell go off. It was a simple tone, Jim made sure it wasn’t very high pitched, it messed with his hearing aid when it was super sharp. It took him a few minutes to shift the frequency in the security system. Jim just wished it came with the chime sound customizable. Kind of like a ringtone, or an alarm.

Jim stood up, carefully putting down the ship, and the couple pieces in his hand, and made his way down the stairs. He placed his hand on the wall, and dragged it down, his fingers brushing a couple picture frames that held some images from when Jim was younger. He walked across the hall and opened the door. He expected some sort of missionary, or the like, but instead he saw a woman, she looked like she was in her early forties, and had graying long hair. It was dark, and so were her eyes. She wore a dark dress that covered her arms, and she was one of the most beautiful women Jim had ever seen.

Next to her there was a man, he looked about Jim’s age, maybe older. He was taller by a few inches, and he had dark hair, it was pushed back, and styled in a way that definitely wasn’t modern. Maybe the 1920s? He also had dark eyes, just like the woman. He was pale, but had a soft blush on his cheeks, he wore a turtleneck sweater even though it was early autumn, and his posture was stiff.

“Hello?” Jim asked, he felt his eyebrow go up, and didn’t make an effort to change it. He was confused. The woman smiled and looked into his house like she expected someone else.

“Hello, is Winona…” She stopped talking, suddenly, and Jim had to turn to see his mother walking out from the kitchen and in the line of the woman’s sight. Winona gasped at the sight of the woman and stepped closer.

“Amanda!?” She asked, a smile breaking out on her face. She nearly knocked Jim down in an effort to hug the dark-haired woman tightly. Jim stood back, not too sure how to proceed.

“Winona! Oh my gosh, it’s really you!” Amanda exclaimed. Jim’s mother nodded and hugged her one more time before stepping back.

“What are you doing here? I thought- I thought you’d be gone forever.” Winona asked, her face softening. Amanda smiled, her eyes suddenly saddening, and her face growing solemn.

“Winona, I have a lot to explain. I know, this is strange.” She said, her voice was strong, but her eyes conveyed a certain desperateness about them. His mom nodded and gestured to the dining room.

They all sat down, Kirk in a chair, and the man in the other one across from him, and Winona, and Amanda next to each other. Kirk touched his hearing aid nervously, rubbing his finger against the grooves in the plastic. He looked from Amanda to the man, and back to his mom, not understanding at all. Winona spoke first.

            “I understand you have a lot to explain, but this is my son, Jim.” She said, placing her hand on his shoulder. Jim smiled sheepishly.

            “Hello, it’s nice to meet you Miss…”

            “Grayson,”

            “Grayson, Ms. Grayson.” Jim said. He reached his hand over the table, and she shook it gratefully. Jim turned his head to the man, expecting an introduction, or something.

            “This is my son, Spock.” She said, smiling at her son warmly. He nodded at Jim.

            “It is nice to meet you Mr. Kirk, and you ma’am.” He said, politely. Jim lifted an eyebrow at the lack of conjunctions, and slight monotone of his voice.

            “You too.” Jim said. He didn’t shake his hand like he did with Amanda, it felt weird to even try for some reason. Amanda smiled, and looked to her friend again. Winona smiled back and shook her head.

“So, I know... I know where you’ve been, but how, and why are you here?” She asked, her hands folded on the table. Amanda looked down, and back up at her friend.

“This might be hard to believe, but me, and my son,” she nodded at Spock, “are moving back to Riverside.” She said.

Winona lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not what I expected to hear.” She said. She looked epically surprised. Jim knew that face. The same face she made when Jim told her about Frank, but this time different. Like she was happy, unbelievably happy. Jim couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, since he’d never seen anything quite like it.

“But where is _he,_ Amanda?” She asked, her voice stern, and her eyes focused. The woman looked down, her dark eyes wistful.

“He’s dead, Win.” She said, her voice breaking. Spock looked away as well, his fist clenching slightly. Jim didn’t have to think too hard to realize the identity of the mystery man.

“Oh my god.” Winona whispered, her voice airy, and dry. “I’m so sorry.” Amanda, nodded. Her eyes alight with so much pain. Jim could almost feel her sadness rolling off her. Spock, although expressionless had such a stiff, and forced way about him. Jim’s eyebrows knitted together, and before the silence became unbearable he spoke an unsure, “I’m sorry for your loss.” Amanda smiled, painfully at him, and nodded. Spock looked briefly into Jim’s eyes, his gaze narrow, and uncertain, but stayed silent.

“Thank you, Jim.” She said. Her eyes flitted back to his mother. “Don’t you see, Win? This is the only place left for us, we can’t live there anymore. Spock could, I’m sure he’d be fine, but I… I can’t stand it, you know?” She said, her voice uneven. Winona sighed, tilting her head.

“Of course, I understand. But when George died… I didn’t move and leave everything behind.” She said. Amanda nodded, and Jim could feel the tension rising. Spock looked as if he wanted to speak for his mother, defend her or something, but Winona got there first.

“It’s always running away with you, isn’t it? You left me, and your family, and moved on to something you thought was better, and now you’re coming back cause it started to get tough?” She asked. Her voice was condescending, and Jim wanted to defend this woman. Her broken heart, and her vulnerable mind, he wanted his mother to stop.

“Mom you can’t just…”

“Stay out of this, Jimmy.”

The young man silenced immediately. Well there was his answer. Suddenly Amanda looked at Spock, and at Jim.

“You two should go up to Jim’s room. Me and Winona need to talk for a bit.” She said, her eyes pained. Spock looked surprised at the statement.

“Mother, I do not think…”

“Spock, Please?” She begged. Spock softened at her words and nodded. Jim looked lost, searching everyone’s eyes.

“Okay… Spock. Come with me.” He said. Jim led them, away from the table, and up the stairs. He tried not to brush his hand on the wall. He was nervous to be alone with this stranger but didn’t want to be rude. Jim remembered the state of his room and felt a wave of nausea. He really wished he’d cleaned up.

Once they got inside, and Jim instinctively locked the door, Spock took a moment to survey the area. Jim stood, sheepishly, standing a few feet away.

“Why did you lock the door?” He asked, suddenly. Jim’s face flushed, and he laughed nervously.

“I guess it was out of habit? I don’t know, I always do that. I can unlock it, if you want?” Jim said, rambling on. Spock tilted his head and put his arms behind his back.

“It is of no consequence. It is fine.” Spock replied. He took another long look at the project in the corner of the room, and a small glance at the spaceship. His gaze then turned back to Jim. Jim stiffened, realizing he should say something.

“Cool, uh… I’m sorry, again. Who was it that died?” Jim asked. He moved to his desk chair, sitting in it backwards, facing Spock. The stranger hesitated, but his gaze fell into Jim’s eyes, his eyes intense.

“He was my father. His name was Sarek.” Spock answered. His voice was slightly uneven, just barely. Jim nodded, frowning.

“Wow, that must be… Awful.” Jim said, his eyes wide. He assumed that was the case at first, but hearing it was pretty upsetting.

“I would assume you could sympathize.” Spock said. When he got a confused look, he clarified.

“Your father, George Kirk.” Spock stated, more than asked. Jim tilted his head back in recognition but waved his hand in front of his face.

“Nah, it’s different. You know? I never even met the guy. It hasn’t been a picnic, but I can only guess it’s worse when you know him and had the time to grow attached.” Jim explained. Spock nodded.

“I understand your thought process.” He said. Jim nodded, and wanted to ask a question he’d thought of a few minutes back.

“English isn’t your first language, is it?” He asked, his eyes narrow. Spock stiffened, and looked concerned. A crease between his eyebrows forming.

“How did you reach this conclusion?” He asked, suspicion lacing his voice. Jim shrugged.

“I don’t know. You talk so formally, if you’d grown up in America you’d use more contractions, and sound less formal. You talk like you only learned direct translations, and none of the slang. Or at least choose not to implement slang.” Jim said, he had relaxed a bit, but was still turning in rhythm in his chair. He was also scratching around his hearing aid, a nervous tick he’d developed.

“That is a logical, and sound reasoning. You are correct. I do however speak English fluently.” Spock said. He almost sounded impressed. Interesting.

“Cool. Where you from?” Jim asked, it was flippant, but the reaction he got was certainly not. Spock stiffened, and turned his head.

“I am from… China.” Spock said, his voice lighter than before. Jim lifted an eyebrow.

“I’m not a real geography buff, but China’s kind of huge. You from Hong Kong, or…?” Jim said. He felt more comfortable and let himself tease a little. Spock frowned.

“Yes, that is the place.” Spock said, quickly. Jim laughed, and hugged the back of his chair.

“Okay… So, your mom made you move, because the entire continent of Asia reminded her of your dad? I respect that, actually. Sometimes I think about if my friends and family died, and I start to map out my plan to move to Europe.” Kirk said, smiling. Spock lifted an eyebrow.

“Let us hope you do not ever have to fulfill that plan.” Spock said. Jim smiled, wider. He had a lot of questions for this guy but didn’t want to overwhelm him.

“You can sit down.” Jim said, nodding to a random chair he had from when he had to do some partner work with Sulu. Spock sat down, gingerly, and looked at his computer, then at Jim.

“So… Spock. How old are you?” Jim asked, he rested his chin on his chair. Spock mulled for a second. Jim wondered what was taking so long.

“Seventeen years of age.” He said, almost as if it took time to figure it out.

“Cool, I’m fifteen. You going to go to the high school around here?” Jim asked, casually. Spock tilted his head.

“No, I will be studying at home.” Spock said. Jim brought his hand up to his hearing aid, again. He felt like taking it out but didn’t want to have to deal with the muffed sound, and the difficulty with clarity.

“So like homeschooling?” He asked. Spock nodded.

“That is what I said.” Spock said. Jim scoffed, a smirk on his face.

“Oh? Jeez, sorry.” Jim said, his smirk still bright. Spock’s eyebrows moved down, he looked confused.

“Why did you just apologize?” Spock asked. Jim shrugged.

“No reason.” He said, and grinned. He stood up, and quickly went over to his chess set. He pulled it off his dresser, and cupped the pieces close to his chest, so they wouldn’t slide off. He knew Spock would play chess, he just felt that vibe there.

“Do you play?” Jim asked, he set it down on the one empty spot on his desk, reserved especially for chess. Jim looked up into Spock’s eyes, awaiting an answer. Spock tilted his head.

“Yes, I do.” Spock said. Jim smiled, and rolled his chair over to the set, and stared at Spock.

“Well move over here, let’s go!” Jim said, grinning. Spock raised an eyebrow and moved his chair across from Jim’s. Together they set the pieces back to the starting point.

For the first time in his life, Jim was challenged in a chess match, well the first time since he was eleven. But he didn’t feel like his life started till like a year ago. Jim tried to outwit Spock, but the dark-haired man was persistent, and smart as hell.

“Damn…” Jim said, his mouth open. Spock had set up a perfect maneuver. Defeat in sight Jim made an uncertain, but unpredictable move. This totally threw off Spock, and suddenly Jim was winning. Jim smirked, and twisted in his chair.

He knocked his knee into Spock’s on accident, but quickly moved away.

“Sorry…” He said. Spock looked into Jim’s eyes, and back to the board, thinking about his next move.

“As my mother would say, ‘no harm, no foul,’” Spock said, finally moving a piece. Jim smiled.

After a long time, longer than Jim had spent on a chess match, and having to work for it, he came out victorious.

“Yes!” Jim said, falling back into his chair. He opened an eye to see a slightly shocked Spock.

“Incredible.” Spock said, still in awe. His eyes on the board. Jim lifted an eyebrow.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been the national champion for chess, ages twelve to 35, since I knew it was a thing.” Jim said. Spock tilted his head.

“I see. I also am high ranking where I come from. I was not expecting this outcome.” Spock said. Jim smirked, and sighed.

“Sounds about right. I haven’t had to work for it like that in a long time.” Jim said. Spock nodded. Jim twisted around to the door out of his room.

“Think they’re done?” He asked. Spock considered it momentarily, his eyes also trained on the exit.

“I am uncertain.” Spock said, his hand resting on the desk. Jim bit his lip.

“I’m really sorry… About my mom, she was way out of line.” Jim said, he was tapping nervously on a discarded chess piece. Spock narrowed his eyes.

“It is not your fault. Your mother’s actions are not your own.” Spock said. Jim sighed.

“Yeah, but… She can be insensitive sometimes.” He said, touching his hearing aid again, it really itched, and he couldn’t wait to take it out for the night.

“It is fine, Jim.” The blonde nodded nervously, eyeing Spock, up and down. Jim suddenly felt nervous again. He wanted to overanalyze Spock but knew that was rude. Jim was like Sherlock Holmes sometimes. He could deduce and find things about people just through what he saw. It didn’t help that he had ADHD, and his mind went into a million different places at once.

“So, in favor of living, and not getting tossed out again, maybe wait a little longer?” Jim asked. Spock crossed his arms and nodded.

“I do not think it is a matter of survival, but I certainly would not like to interrupt.” Spock said, matter of factly. Jim grinned, lopsidedly.

“Okay, anything you wanna do?” Jim asked, playfully. He had all sorts of board games, and maybe Spock liked Legos. They had those in China, right? He suddenly felt immature. Those things were pretty juvenile, but they were what Jim liked to do with other people. Some people wanted to party, or watch TV, but Jim liked inventing, theorizing, reading, and playing games. Most activities he enjoyed were kind of solitary. It wasn’t like he was antisocial, he just liked things that challenged him intellectually.

“Actually, may I pose a query?” Spock asked. Jim lifted an eyebrow and smiled.

“Sure, ask away.” He said. Spock hesitated. Jim suddenly got nervous. Was it personal? Or something kind of embarrassing?

“What is the purpose of the piece of plastic in your ear?” Spock asked. He sounded unsure, as if he’d never experienced anything like it. He probably hadn’t.

“Oh! This?” Jim asked, tapping on it. He laughed a little and smiled. “It’s a hearing aid. I have a hearing impairment. I can’t hear a thing out of this ear, and my other ear has always been kind of fuzzy.” Jim said. Spock lifted an eyebrow, his eyebrows drawn up.

“Oh. I see. Why do you not have the impairment fixed?” Spock asked. Jim smiled sheepishly and looked away. His eyes on the floor, staring at a Spiderman comic on the ground.

“I like it this way.” Jim said. He said the words quietly and didn’t know how Spock would react. Usually people just called him dumb, or said that was silly, or didn’t understand, so he hoped Spock wouldn’t be weirded out.

“I see. Why is this?” He asked. Jim looked up into Spock’s eyes. He didn’t have a lick of condescension anywhere on his face.

“Well, think about it like this. You close your eyes, like for blinking, but mainly sleeping, or whatever you do with your eyes closed. It’s a way to avoid the visual stimulation of everything around you. But to me, I’ve always been able to choose when I hear, and when I don’t, and thinking about having to deal with the audio stimulation all the time sounds awful.” Jim explained. He’d had to say this a few times, but people didn’t always get the comparison. Jim realized he’d been talking with his hands, and may have come off as strange, but again there was nothing but a slight curiosity in this man’s eyes.

“I believe I understand.” Spock said, nodding. Jim smiled, his eyes lighting up. Again, he accidentally hit his knee against Spock’s, he didn’t pull away this time.

“Spock!” They heard, calling from downstairs. Spock stood up, as did Jim. The younger man walked over to the door, and quickly unlocked it, opening the door for Spock to go through first.

Jim followed after him, looking over the banister to see Winona, and Amanda talking softly.

“Alright, baby, we’re going to head out. You have some more stuff to unpack.” Amanda said, touching Spock’s shoulder, softly. He nodded.

“Yes, mother.” He said, his eyes softening at her affection. Jim looked to Winona who looked exhausted, but content.

“So, you guys already found a place? Is it around here?” Jim asked absently. Winona scoffed lightly but had a grin on her face.

“It’s only right down the road.” She said. Jim’s eyes widened.

“You bought that house? Wow, that is close.” He said. He couldn’t help the slight smile tugging at his lips. Amanda smiled.

“Of course! I wanted to stay close to Winona, and… that is the house I grew up in.” She said, her eyes softening.

“Really? Huh, I guess I never knew.” Jim said, looking to his mother. Amanda nodded, and started toward the door, Spock followed, and they all said their goodbyes.

-

Jim walked into school Monday morning with his head held high. He crossed the double doors and slid to his locker. Inside he found a mountain of books, and papers shoved away over a couple of months. Jim sighed, and grabbed his favorite pen, and the textbook he’d forgotten he needed over the weekend. He slammed his locker, a piece of graph paper sticking out. He shoved the pen in his pocket and held the book under his arm. He walked to the library, and sat there for the few minutes before class, and did the geometry work he’d neglected. It only took a couple minutes, anyway.

He looked up to see Sulu, and Chekov walking over to the table. Chekov had a piece of toast in his hands, and Sulu was talking absently, mostly to himself. Chekov had on his normal hoodie, and jeans combo, and Sulu was rocking a long sleeve button down, and some mauve trousers. He had a denim jacket to tie it all together, and Jim sighed at his own beige hoodie with a shark patch, and some casual jeans.

“How’s it going guys?” He asked. They sat down and put down their stuff.

“Pretty good. Got all my Spanish homework done, finally.” Sulu said, taking out his phone, and playing a stupid game. Chekov frowned, and lifted an eyebrow.

“I tried messaging you, what happened?” He asked. Jim sighed at the younger student. Chekov was only in eighth grade, and sometimes Jim couldn’t take him seriously. He was small, and kind of dorky, but he had his charms. He was intelligent, and good at the things he liked, like knowing every issue of weapon that’d ever been invented since the eighteen hundreds.

Jim finally recognized what Chekov had said, and his mind spun back to the deathly moment. He was in his bathroom Sunday morning, he was brushing his teeth, and moved on to mouthwash, when suddenly, his arm jerked the bottle, and hit his phone. He latched onto the bottle of purple fluid before it could spill, but then he realized with intense fear, and incredible amounts of regret that his phone had fallen in the toilet. His life flashed before his eyes, and he quickly proceeded to stick his hand in the toilet and take it out. Running to put it in rice, or something.

“Shit… sorry, yeah. I sort of dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday.” Jim said, his intense anger at his own clumsiness returning in spades. Chekov burst into a huge grin and started laughing. Jim frowned, and shook his head. Chekov finally settled down and was able to put together a coherent sentence.

“Okay, but what about Saturday night? That’s when I messaged you.” Chekov asked, still grinning.

“A couple people came over.” Jim said, hoping that’d be the end of it. Unfortunately, his friends were incredibly nosy individuals.

“Who?” Sulu asked, mindlessly, looking up from his phone. Jim thought about how he could explain this. It was pretty weird, and he didn’t want it to come across as ludicrous, or unbelievable, even though the encounter was both of those things.

“Well… my mom’s old friend, and her son dropped by. They’re moving in next door.” Jim said, he decided incredibly vague was the right way to go. Chekov, and Sulu seemed interested.

“Son? Is he our age.” Sulu asked. Jim shook his head and considered it for a second.

“Not really, he’s seventeen.” Jim said. He could remember the way Spock had to think about it for a second. Jim wondered how fluent he really was. Sulu looked interested and lifted an eyebrow.

“Seventeen? Is he going to our school?” He asked. Jim noticed the shift in mood. Sulu wasn’t just interested, he was _interested_. Jim grimaced, and snorted. Sulu only looked more intrigued.

“No, he’s homeschooled. Plus, he’s not your type at all. Tall, lanky, black hair. Not your style.” Jim said, his tongue laced with amusement. Sulu flushed, and looked away.

“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean like that!” He said. Jim laughed, and crossed his arms.

“Whatever. I know you like Ben, so it doesn’t matter anyway.” Jim said. He’d seen the way his friend looked at the junior. He looked like a puppy in love. Always trying to hang out with him and making sure they did the same extracurriculars. Sulu’s affection wasn’t a secret to anyone except the recipient, who remained clueless.

“I do not! Let’s talk about something else.” Sulu defended. Chekov took this as an opportunity.

“Yeah, Jim. The messages I sent. I wanted to make sure you were coming to the debate meet this Saturday.” Chekov explained. Jim mulled over the prospect. He didn’t really want to go. He’d joined the team because he wanted to see what it was like. The coach was his History professor’s husband, and he expressed an interest in Jim’s test scores, but Jim hated it. He tried, and realized it wasn’t his style. All the rules, and regs, and all the competitiveness. He liked debating, but not when it was so structured. It was always some weird political topic Jim had no interest in, and he hated everyone in the club. They were all preppy freaks with sticks up their asses, and no sense of reality. Overall not Jim’s scene.

“I’m not going.” Jim said. Chekov frowned, and crossed his arms.

“If you keep skipping he’ll kick you out.” Chekov said. Jim smiled sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair.

“Here’s hoping.”

-

After school Jim messaged Bones with his old phone. He told him to come pick him up at the school, so he wouldn’t have to take the bus. Because, gross.

After a few minutes he got a response, which was a reluctant yes. Jim smirked at the message and sat down on the bench outside of the building, waiting patiently. Jim eyed some cheerleaders sitting in the grass a few meters away. They were talking about something girly Jim assumed, their giggles, and bashful looks, Jim grew interested. The one in the middle, Uhura was especially beautiful. He’d been flirting with her for years, even in Elementary school. She was just so gorgeous. She was a Junior and probably the hottest girl in school. Next to her was Gaila, her and Jim had fooled around a couple times, but it never really turned into anything. She was easily as hot as Uhura, but the taller thinner, and more graceful girl was just so untouchable it made Jim crazy.

His attention went to the dark blue Jeep rolling into the parking lot, sputtering, and heaving. Bones sat in the driver’s side, an arm over the window. He eyed Jim and nodded to the car. Urging Jim to get off his ass and get in. Jim forgot all about the girls and went to join his best friend.

After a few minutes Bones was about to pass a store, and Jim was not passing up this.

“Bones, Bones! Pull over I’m thirsty.” Jim practically begged. Bones grunted, and looked at the store, and shook his head.

“Hell no.” He said and sped past the store causing a whirlwind in his wake. Jim gaped at him and frowned.

“What the hell man? I have my own money.” He said. Bones lifted an eyebrow.

“What were you going to buy?” He asked. Jim frowned, and looked out his window.

“Pepsi…” Jim admitted, his face contorted into that of a toddler. Bones nodded, and looked over to the teenager in front of him, and said,

“that’s what I’m here for. Jesus, Jim. If I wasn’t here, you’d be dead. Whether that’s from death defying acts of recklessness, or diabetes I’m not sure.”

Jim scoffed, crossing his arms, and pouted, reaching for his backpack to grab his water bottle, and took a sip. Bones smiled softly at that and nodded evenly. He didn’t talk, and neither did Jim. So, Jim pressed play on the radio. It was _She Looks So Perfect_ by Five Seconds of Summer, and Jim couldn’t help but start jamming out.

“ _She looks so perfect standin’ there in my American apparel underwear, and I know now, that I’m so down. Your lipstick stain is a work of art, I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart! And I know now, that I’m so down… Hey_!” Jim sang, Bones groaned, and Jim could only start laughing hysterically.

“That song so fucking old, Jim…” Bones grumbled. Jim grinned, turning down the tunes as a song he hadn’t heard came on.

“Man, I love that song.”

Once they got to Bones’ place, just before the college student couldn’t take one more early 2000s song being screamed into his ear, Jim migrated his way into the kitchen, and then to the living room. His best friends place wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was pretty cozy. He lived in an apartment near his college, and only had visitors when his ex-girlfriend let him see his daughter. Jim always felt bad for him. His daughter Jocelyne was only two, and he rarely got to see her. Hopefully someday he can beat that bitch’s ass in court.

Bones walked in a couple seconds after Jim, and they sat on the couch, just silently basking in their Monday evening. Bones had some schoolwork, and so did Jim, but neither man wanted to think about that at present.

“So, how was your weekend?” Bones asked. Jim laughed, thinking back to his rather eventful weekend. All the things he could complain about.

“Well, I dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday.” Jim said. Bones nodded.

“I assumed something along those lines had happened, seeing as you messaged me with your old number. I was suspicious at first.” He said. Jim laughed, and shifted on the couch. He never had to think too hard with Bones, he let Jim be Jim, and didn’t make him question his sanity every five minutes. Bones was a relaxed, down to Earth guy. Jim could talk to him about anything.

“I also met this woman and her son the other day.” Jim said, almost wistfully, like it hadn’t really happened, and it was just a dream. Bones lifted an eyebrow and huffed.

“Huh, how’d that happen?” He asked, pushing a piece of messy hair from his face. Jim smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“Rang my doorbell. Apparently, the woman is an old friend of my Mom’s. She moved away to China or something with her husband and had a kid. The husband died so she’s moving back into her family home. You know, the blue and white one down the street from the farm.” Jim explained. He was smiling, softly, and Bones’ eyes were narrow.

“Strange… You said China, or something?” Bones asked. Jim shrugged.

“I know, it’s so weird. The kid, Spock was his name. He’s seventeen, and he said that’s where he grew up, but he didn’t sound convinced.” Jim said, sighing. Bones nodded.

“Man, you got to stop meeting weird people. First Gaila, now some family from China?” Bones exclaimed.

“Don’t forget the weirdest of them all, some doctor named Leonard McCoy, man he’s the worst.” Jim said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Bones lifted an eyebrow and hit Jim on the arm.

“Shut up, or else I’ll personally perform all your vaccines once I’m licensed, and I know how to make that hurt.”

Jim proceeded to shut up, but couldn’t help a sheepish grin in return.

-

 

It was Saturday afternoon, and Jim almost regretted not going to the debate meet.

“I’m so bored!” The young man yelled. He was laying upside down on the couch in the living room, watching his mom do dishes. Winona smirked, scrubbing a pan.

“That’s what you say, but then you avoid any opportunity to do something like the plague.” She said, her eyes alight with amusement. Jim groaned, and scratched his hearing aid. He looked over at the TV but knew there wouldn’t be anything good. TV was never good anymore. Jim had a feeling it wouldn’t be a thing sooner or later. It was so boring. He’d already exhausted all of the older good shows, but nothing good was coming out.

“Why don’t you go see Spock? Amanda told me she was going shopping and left him at home this morning. She said he hates shopping.” Winona explained.

Jim snorted, and ran his hand through his messy hair, untamed since he wasn’t going anywhere. He sighed and contemplated the idea. Spock. He hadn’t thought about the interesting stranger for a couple days, but he was always drifting through the background of Jim’s subconscious. He’d actually dreamed the other night that they were in some sort of desert, and there were lots of cool buildings. He didn’t give it much thought, but if Spock was as entertaining as he was before he could be the answer to Jim’s incredible boredom.

“Okay… I’ll go over and see what he’s up to.” Jim said, flopping over, and off the couch. He rubbed his hand over his face, and made his way up to his room, ignoring his mother’s annoying smirk.

After washing up, and getting dressed, Jim took one last look in the mirror. He was wearing a thin dark grey hoodie, and a pair of dark wash jeans. He had on some converse and had messed with his hair to get it looking like he meant to exist today.

After deciding to put on some random cologne he set out. He had his chess set, and some _Legos_ packed in his backpack, and hopped on his bike. It was pretty banged up, but it still did the job. Jim biked down the road, passing by a majority of the farm, eyeing all the crops, and some of the people Winona employed. Jim would help out sometimes, he used to more, but school kept eating away at his free time. He wanted to visit the horses at some point. Maybe Spock would be into that, though he didn’t seem like an animal guy.

Jim finally rolled up to the big blue house. It was Victorian style, but kind of ranch. It was two stories and had white trim. It had a big front porch, and Jim remembered losing a baseball in the backyard of the place. Upon further inspection, Jim, and Sam realized it landed in the gutter, and there it stayed for years. Jim wondered if it was still there.

 The young man smiled at the memory and parked his bike next to the stairs up to the front door. Jim walked up, feeling a little nervous. He grabbed at the straps of his bag, and finally knocked loudly on the door. He had noticed there was no doorbell, maybe they hadn’t put in their security system yet.

A couple seconds later Jim heard a voice that could only be Spock’s ask,

“Who is it?”

Jim smiled and said, “Jim Kirk!” Loudly. A few seconds later Jim was face to face with Spock.

“Hello.” Spock said, he looked flustered, and his cheeks were flushed. He looked surprised to see Jim, as if he really didn’t believe anyone would visit.

“Hey, man. How are you?” Jim asked, he had this algorithm planned out. Greetings were always awful as a kid, he’d always forget formalities, and then he’d seem rude.

“I am well. And you, Jim?” Spock asked. Jim laughed a little at the stiffness of his words. Jim tilted his head and looked down.

“Well I was hoping we could hang out today. I’m not doing anything right now, so…” Jim explained, his eyes falling back into Spock’s. Spock lifted an eyebrow and looked a little calmer. He opened the door further, and contemplated Jim’s request.

“I would be amenable to that.” Spock replied, finally gesturing inside the home. Jim nodded, and added a polite, “thank you.”

Spock led Jim to what appeared to be the living room. It held a couple of couches, and chairs, and a small coffee table. On one of the walls was a bookshelf filled with literature, and on the table, there was papers, and a couple of what looked like padds. Padds were these devices that had been recently invented. Some sort of iPad like thing. Some schools were using them instead of computers for students. Jim’s high school didn’t have that kind of cash though.

“You may sit down. Do you require anything to drink?” Spock asked. Jim sat on one of the couches and nodded.

“That would be good. What do you have?” He asked.

“Water, orange juice, and milk.” He said, as if he had memorized the contents in his fridge just in case something like this happened. Jim nodded, thinking about his options.

“I’ll just have some water, thank you.” He said. Suddenly he felt awkward. Like it was an imposition that he had showed up. Maybe Spock was working, and Jim interrupted him for his own selfish gains, or Spock actually hated him, and was just being polite.

Spock returned with a glass of water and handed it gingerly to Jim. Spock sat down on the other end of the couch and stayed silent.

“So… Spock. What have you been up to?” Jim asked, taking a sip of water. Spock lifted an eyebrow, and seemed to think over his answer, like he needed to make sure he was using the right words.

“I have been studying. It has been interesting to discover the differences here compared to my previous home.” Spock said, carefully. He had a look on his face, Jim could almost describe it as longing, his eyes held a certain vulnerability, like he really missed wherever he came from.

“I get that. I’ve been going to school like normal, but otherwise just the same stuff.” Jim said. Spock lifted an eyebrow and looked Jim over.

“And what is this, ‘same stuff’?” Spock asked. Jim laughed, and shrugged, keeping his eyes on the older man’s face.

“I guess just school work, hacking, _Legos_.” Jim explained. Spock looked concerned at the second hobby, but otherwise he seemed pretty content with the answer.

“I see. What are, _Legos_?” Spock asked, genuine curiosity on his soft features. That was another thing Jim noticed. Spock was tall, but he had delicate features, and small eyes, something Jim wasn’t used to.

Jim had to think about his answer to the question at hand. Legos. He could just show Spock, but he should probably describe them first.

“Well… they’re really cool. At least _I_ like them a lot. They’ve been around for decades. They’re these blocks that all connect together, and you can create structures, and cool things with them. There are sets so you can build certain things, but I like to invent my own sort of stuff. I brought some if you want to check em’ out.” Jim explained, and reached for his bag. Spock nodded, and contemplated the description.

“Interesting, yes I would like to see them.” Spock said. Jim smiled, and reached into his bag, and brought out a box full of all sorts of pieces. He had a couple small things built in there, but nothing substantial.

“Here.” He said, opening the container. Spock looked at them and lifted an eyebrow. He picked one of the mini creations Kirk had started but didn’t like.

“Very interesting. I remember the structure that was on a surface in your room. Was it indeed made of these small bricks?” Spock asked, his fingers were delicately removing some of the bricks, and adding different ones. The way he did it was as if it was automatic, or some type of fidgeting.

“Yeah! That’s my latest creation. It’s supposed to be a spaceship, and I’ve been working on it for a while.” Jim explained, his mouth split into a grin. Spock was actually interested in Jim’s interests. Maybe it was more innocent curiosity, but Jim still took advantage of this.

“I see.” Spock said. “A spaceship? It does somewhat resemble many science fiction devices I have seen. I enjoyed the design, so far it seems well constructed.” Spock’s voice was earnest, and his eyes trained on whatever he was working on in his hands. Jim flushed at the compliment, and nodded, his eyes on a couple pieces he held mindlessly.

“Thanks…” Jim said, his voice uneven. He looked up to see Spock watching him.

“Would you like to attempt to create another structure with my assistance?” Spock asked. Jim’s eyes widened, and he nodded.

“Hell yeah!” He said, more enthusiastically then what seemed appropriate.

-

After a few hours of non-stop building, Jim and Spock had something that resembled a spaceship. It had a harsh design, but it was still practical. It had a balanced interior and was quite large. They had exhausted every piece Jim had brought, and they were nowhere near done.

“Man, Spock. You’re so good at this. I mean, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you had experience with engineering, and other forms of rocket science, cause this is awesome.” Jim said, admiring their handiwork. Spock lifted an eyebrow and took a sip of the tea he’d made halfway through.

“Your assessment is correct. I am studying various fields of engineering, and physics.” Spock revealed. Jim gaped at the man in front of him. Was he serious? Jim thought he was a high school student. Was this guy a grade A genius, or something? Jim shifted, and brought a hand up to his ear.

“Woah, I had no clue you were in college, or whatever you do. I thought you were in high school.” Jim said, laughing nervously. Spock tilted his head and put down his mug.

“I understand your misinterpretation. I am studying online at an academy I attended before I moved to Riverside.” Spock clarified. Jim nodded, and raked a hand through his messy hair. He smiled thoughtfully and rested his chin on his hand.

“Man, that’s awesome. I want to study physics too. I love space, and science. I mean, you can probably tell. But I don’t know what I want to do profession wise. I think being an astronaut would be sick, but my hearing… And I want to have a life, not just leave on a rocket, and never come back.” Jim rambled on. He really had no idea what he was going to do in the future. He thought maybe an astrophysicist, or something, anything that had to do with space.

“I understand. I sympathize with the lack of direction.” Spock said. His eyes looked solemn, and he had an air of regret all over him, as if when he moved he really left everything behind. Like, everything. Maybe he did, culturally Jim knew America was fucking weird, and the careers were just as random. Jim felt a sudden affinity for this man’s awkwardness, it made Jim feel more normal.

“Yeah… Well maybe we’ll just have to figure out faster than the speed of light travel together, and then we can explore space, and come back in time for dinner.” Jim said, he elbowed Spock, and smiled softly. Spock looked at the spot where Jim touched him and lifted an eyebrow. He tilted his head and looked away momentarily.

“Jim… Do you believe in alien life?” Spock asked. Jim thought it was random but didn’t think it was entirely unrelated.

“Of course! I mean, the universe is expanding exponentially, and there’s such a mass amount of space for life to exist, and grow, just like our planet. It’d be pretty disappointing if it was just Earth, since there’s so much opportunity for other lifeforms.” Jim explained. He’d always believed in aliens. It was just something he knew existed, something kind of obligatory about life. There was no way they were alone.

“I see…” Spock said. His eyes softened, and he sat silent for a few more seconds. “I again sympathize with your sentiment.” Spock said. Jim smiled.

A few hours, and a couple chess games later, Jim left to catch dinner at his house. Him and Spock said their goodbyes, and as soon as Jim got home he passed out on his bed, secretly calculating how many hours were left until he got to see Spock again.

**Author's Note:**

> Spock looks human because he uses a device created by the VSA on Vulcan. It's a device that scrambles matter. It's like beaming, but it can be programmed to alter the perception of ones appearance for other people. If Spock were to look at his hand while using the device he would see greenish skin, but if he were to look in a mirror he would see himself as human. 
> 
> Jim is deaf in this story, and it will pertain to certain plot points. Jim is also a genius, and has ADHD. I will be writing this story from this point of their lives to after Jim graduates from college, so when I tagged slow burn I meant it.
> 
> Also if anyone has any critiques, or ideas feel free to share them with me.


End file.
